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E. SCHNEDER.

APPARATUS FOR LOADING cums;

APPLICATION FILED FEB. \4. I918.

Patented July 22, 1919.

8 SHEETSSHEET 1 E. SCHNEIDER.

OADING GUNS.

FEB. 14. L918.

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ATION FILED Patented July 22, B S HEETSSHEET c0., WASHINGTON, n c.

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APPARATUS FOR LOADING GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.14 191B.

Patented July 22, 1919.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3 EMEIFE mIII-m Tm: cnLummA PLANXIRAPII 120., WASHINGTON n. c.

E. SCHNEIDER. APPARATUS ron LOADING suns.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.14| IQIB.

Patented July 22, 1919.

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APPARATUS FOR LOADING GUNS. 7 APPLICATION mm FEB. uflexa.

Patented July 22,1919.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 5- Tm: COLUMBIA PLANOGIIAPH con WASHINGTON. D, C-

E. SCHNEIDER.

APPARATUS FOR LOADING suns.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- H. 1918.

Patented July 22, 1919.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

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APPARATUS FOR LOADlNG GUNS.

APPLICATION man ms. 14. ms.

1,3 10,890. A Patented July 22, 1919.

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APPARATUS FOR LOADING suns.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I4, I918.

Patented July 22, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET a T m COLUMBIA ".ANOGRAF'II INGTDN. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE SCHNEIDER, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR T0 SCHNEIDER & CIE., OF PARIS, FRANCE, A LIMITED JOINT STOCK COMPANY OF FRANCE.

APPARATUS FOR LOADING GUNS.

Application filed February 14, 1918.

To a whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE Sonnnmnn, a citizen of the French Republic, and a resident of 42 Rue d'Anjou, Paris, France, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Loading Guns, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an improved apparatus for loading guns. Th improved apparatus comprises as usual :1, loading carriage traveling in a framing located at the rear of the gun barrel, and having the shape of a scoop for receiving the parts of the gun charge (projectile and powder charge). In the same framing there is guided a rammer to which to-and-fro motion is imparted from an electric motor.

The invention consists in an apparatus that enables the actual movements of the rammer to produce automatically the necessary stoppages of the driving motor at the ends of the forward (loading) stroke and th rearward stroke of the rammer actuated by the said motor, as well as the reversal vof the said motor when the rammer has arrived at the end of its forward stroke.

According to the invention the improved apparatus comprises a clutch of which one member is located on a shaft mounted inthe fixed framing and ending at the controller of the electric motor. The other member .of the clutch is located on the scoop shaped loading carriage and is connected to a shaft mounted in the loading carriage, said shaft being operated b means oftappets by the rammerat the on s of the forward and rearward strokes of the latter.

Two embodiments of this invention are illustrated by way of example 'in the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1 to 14 show one embodiment;

Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 1 are longitudinal sections along the axis of the improved apparatus, showing the parts in the requisite positions for loadi a complete charge (projectile and power charge) into the gun breech;

Figs; 5, 6 and 7 are cross sections, drawn to a larger scale respectively, on the lines VV of Fig. l; VIVI of Fig. 2; and VIIVII of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional elevation of the clutch mechanism between the shaft Specification of Letters Patent.

of the said carriage.

Patented J nly 22, 1919.

Serial No. 217,193.

mounted in the loading carriage and actued in the fixed fra-lnin and ending at the controller of the electrlc motor;

Figs. 9 and 10 are correspondin cross sections respectively on the lines I -IX and XX of Fig. 8;

Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 are diagrammatic views showing the various positions of the parts of the clutch mechanism during the to-and-fro movements of the rammer:

Figs. 15 to 21 show the second embodiment of the invention.

As shown, the improved loading apparatus comprises as usual a fixed framing A provided with rollin tracks a for the wheels 6 of a scoop-shaped loading carriag B, and also, if desired, guide ways a for edges 11 p This carriage carries a rack B by means of which it can be moved into the loading position shown in Figs. 1 to 4, by actuatinga pinion C fixed on a shaft 0 journaled in the fixed framing.

The rammer D is movable in the framing A, and forthis purpose it is providedwith a pair of wheels (Z rolling on the guideway a a which is suitably prolonged to the rear. The rammer is urther provided at its front end with a pair of wheels d rolling on the upper side of the carriage B. Toand-fro motion is imparted to the rammer by means of a pinion E meshin with a rack D formed on the upper side oi the rammer. The shaft eon which the pinion E is fixed, receives its motion from an electric motor (not shown).

The improved apparatus produces the stoppages of the motor at the ends of the forward loadin and rearward strokes of the rammer; it urther 'efi'ects automatically the reversal of the motor for the return run of the latter.

For this purpose, an actuating member F for actuating a switch or other part controlling the electric motor, is located on the shaft 7 journaled in the fixed framing A. Upon this shaft f is fixed a pinion Gr connected through a toothed wheel H fixed on an intermediate shaft h, to a pinion I fixed on a shaft 2' which is likewise journaled in the fixed framing A.

Upon the shaft 5 which forms part of the gear I-HGf-F, there is fixed one member J of a clutch J-K hereinafter described in detail.

Th other member K of the said clutch is mounted on. a shaft in journaled in the loading carriage B. On the shaft is is fixed a bevel pinion L which constitutes one of the parts of a gear actuated by the rammer D when the latter has arrived at one of its end positions. This gearmay comprise, as shown, a toothed are M formed on a rockii beam M fixed on an axle m journaled in t e carriage B. The end M of the rocking beam, farthest from the are M is connected by a link N to a lever O fixed on an axle 0 journaled in the carria e B.

The hub of this ever has two upwardly projecting fingers P and Q, adapted respectively to engage a forward stop R and a rear stop S provided on the underside of the rammer D.

At the end of the forward stroke of the rammer the impact between the rear stop S and the finger Q will produce, by the tilting of the finger Q and the de ression of the latter underthe stop, a roc (ing movement of the lever O which will have the result of actuating through the gear NM M the pinion L in such a manner as to move the clutch member K into engagement with the other clutch member J. 'Inversely, the im set between forward stop R and the finger at the end of the rearward stroke, will cause the lever O to rock in the reverse direction and move the clutch member K back into its initial position. The clutch member K is movable in a sector shaped recess j formed in the disk J, as is clearly shown inFigs. 8 to 15. The sides 7' and j of this recess are arranged to strike alternately against the sides of the member K. The intermediate pinion H is connected at a point H of its periphery through the medium of a spring T to a fixed point U located on the framing.

Figs. 8, 9 and 11 show the parts of the clutch mechanism in the position of rest that corresponds to a position of the member F that secures the stoppage of the motor; the rammer en occupying its extreme rear position (Figs. 1 and 5,). In this position the sprin" T has a tefndenc to rotate the wheels and in the direc ions of the arrow (Fig. 11); but this motion is prevented by the side 7' bearing a ainst the member K which is in its turn eld stationary by reason of the enga' ment between the pinion L and the arc and the bearing of the finger P against the bottom of the buttonhole-shaped recess B The operation of the improved apparatus is as follows The parts being in the position shown in Figs. 1. 5, 8, 9 and 11, a projectile V is placed by the usual means upon the scoop shaped loading carriage, the rear end ofthe projectile being in contact with the head of the ram.

By means of a crank handle W fixed on the shaft f which carries the member F for actuating the controller, the said shaft is rotated in such a manner as to effect the starting of the electric motor.

This operation is performed from the position shown in Fig. 11 and by rotating the crank handle TV from right to left. it will be noted that, this movement, is, by the way, the only possible direction for this operation.

This movement is continued until the side j of the sector-shaped recess j strikes against the clutch member K which has rc mained stationary. The members of the clutch J-K and of the gear IH-G then occupy the positions shown in Fig. 12. From this movement onward the spring T has a tendency to rotate the wheel H in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 12) this posi tion corresponds to the starting of the motor caused by the member F.

The shaft e now revolvin in the proper direction, actuates through t 1e pinion E the rammer D which pushes the projectile into the breech chamber of the gun. The parts of the apparatus then occupy the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 6. During this movement of the rammer the clutch members J,

K retain the position shown in Fig. 12, until the finger Q strikes the stop S. 'The finger Q is forced down by the stop and in that movement it moves with it the gear ON- M-M, and thus brings the member K into the position shown in Fig. 13, moving through the said member the member 'J, and through the latter the gear IHG. As shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the finger P is engaged in a recess S formed in the rear face of the rammer parallelly to the stop S.

The member F for actuating the controlier is thereby brought into the position in which it acts to stop the motor The motor being thus stopped the spring T will have freedom to act, and will thus move the member J into the position shown in Fig. 14, while the gear H-G has moved the member F for actuating the controller into position, for causing the motor to run backward.

The pinion E thus drives the rack D in such a manner as to cause the rammer to make its rearward stroke and thus return into its initial position. Just before the end of this return movement the finger P is struck by the stop R located on the from: face of the rammer, whereby the said finger is caused to tilt, while the finger Q becomes engaged in the parallel slot R The rocking of the finger P has had the eifect of actuating the gear O--MN N L, and thus to cause the member K to move from the position shown in Fig. 1 into the position shown in Fig. 11. In this position the motor is caused to stop.

,When the gun chargec'onsists of a projectile and powder charges combined, in a single cartridge, the rammer has tomake in each loading operation, a singletorand-fro stroke of a length pro trionatel to the length of the said cartridge to be loaded into the gun.

\Vhen, however, as in the example shown, the gun charge consists of a, separate projectile and powder-charges, the loading is generally performed in two stages in order to reduce as much as possible the lengthand bulk of the loading apparatus.

In such a case provision must be made to enable the rammer to' make a longer stroke for loading the projectile than that required for loading thepowder-charges.

The rear stop S+-S intervenes for the purpose of actuating the lever P, only during the period of pushing the projectile into the gun breech. An auxiliary stop is constituted by one of the arms X of a rocking member XX pivoted on an axle 02 located on the rammer. The other arm X of said member is connected by a link Y to the stem 2 of a spring stop Z.

During the ramming of the projectile the spring stop Z is moved out of the way as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and is moved at the same time the stop X out of the way. Normally in the absence of a projectile, the stop Z is caused by its spring to project from the head of the rammer, the stop X then being in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. For the ramming operation the powder-charges V are placed in position in front of the stop Z, their mass being insufficient to overcome the force of the spring of this stop. It is to be understood that, at the end of the forward stroke, the stop X performs in relation to the finger Q, exactly the same function that was performed by the stop S in the ramming of the projectile. The moving of the finger Q out of the way by the stop X is clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 7.

Figs. 15 and 21 illustrates the second embodiment wherein the rammer is so constructed as to enable the loading of a charge comprising a projectile with its powdercharges, to be performed in one stroke of the rammer.

Fig. 15 is a sectional side elevation showing the parts in their positions at the bcginning of the forward (loading) stroke of the rammer.

Figs. 16 and 17 are vertical cross sections respectively on the lines XVI-XVI and XVIIXVH of Fig. 15.

Figs. 18, 19 and 20 are longitudinal sections showing the parts in their positions during various stages of the loading operation.

Fig. 21 is a vertical cross section on the line XXIXXI of Fig. 18.

In this embodiment of the invention the rammer comprises at its forward end a scoop D designed for 7 receiving the powder charges. V during the stage of the loading operation that corresponds to the ramming of the projectile.

The rammer further comprises a piston I) provided with a spring catch (l adapted to engage in a recess l formed in the breach of the gun.

At the beginning of the ramming operation the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 15. The projectile V bears with its rear end against the front edge of the rammer scoop D and the powder-charges V are situated in the said scoop, the rearmost powder-chargo bearing against the piston D.

In the ramming stroke, the entire gun charge is pushed into the gun chamber into which the scoop I) enters temporarily; the catch (1 engaging at the end of the said stroke in the recess Z as shown in Fig. 18. In the rearward stroke, the scoop D slides away from underneath the powder-charges V which are retained in the gun chamber by the piston D the spring catch holding the piston against any tendency to move backward with the scoop. lVhen the parts have come into the positions shown in Fig. 19, the guide sleeve D of the piston rod will be in contact at its rear end dfivith the enlarged portion D of the said piston rod, and will thus move the piston I) back with it in the rearward stroke of the rammer, the spring catch yielding under the power applied and releasing the piston.

When this rearward stroke is completed, the parts will be in the positions shown in Fig. 20. It will then be suflicient to push back the piston D in order to return it into the initial position shown in Fig. 15.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an apparatus for loading guns, the combination with a loading carriage, a fixed framing in which said loadin carriage can be moved out of the way during firing and in which said carriage travels, a rammer having a to-and-fro motion in said fixed framing, and a motor for operating said rammer, of a first clutch member located on said loading carriage a cooperatin second clutch member located on said fixed framing, an actuating member for actuating a controlling device for starting and stopping said motor, a first gear whereof said cooperating second clutch member forms a part and ending at said actuatin member, and a second gear whereof sai first clutch member forms a part actuated by said rammer in its to-andfro movements whereby the to-and-fro movements of said rammer determine automatically the starting and stopping of the latter.

2. In an apparatus for loading guns, the combination with a loading carriage, a fixed framing in which said loading carriage can be moved out of the way during firing, and in which said carriage travels a rammerhaving a to-and-fro motion in said fixed framing, and a motor for operating said ramme r, of a first clutch member located on said loading carriage, a cooperating second clutch member located on said fixed framing, an actuating member for actuating a controlling device for starting and stopping said motor, a, first gear whereof said'cooperating second clutch member forms a part ending at said actuating member, a second gear whereof said first clutch member forms a part actuated by said rammer in its to andfro movements, whereby the to -ahd-iro mregeeo movements of said ram-mer determine automatically the starting and stopping of the latter, a front and a rear sto located on said rammer, for actuating sai second gear at the ends of the strokes of said rammer, a lever for said second gear, acted upon by said stops, and an auxiliary stop which acts in substitution for said back stop in the ramming of the powder-ch-arges, said auxiliary stop being rendered inoperative by the projectile while the latter is being rammed.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

EUGENE SCHNEIDER.

Witnesses:

ANDRE Mosrroxnn, CHAS. P. PREBSLY- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O." 

